Vidalia onion salad with garlic chive and chicken skin 玉ねぎのサラダ、ニラ、雛皮入り

This is another quick dish I concocted. The main ingredient is Vidalia onion which is known for its sweetness (Vidalia onion is a particular cultivar growing in low sulfa soil in Vidalia, Georgia). I am not sure if there is something similar in Japan. In any case, raw onion salad is a regular izakaya affair, a variation of which I have posted before. This is another variation of raw onion salad using Vidalia onion with the addition of blanched garlic chives and chicken skin which is the by-product of the sake-steamed or “sakamushi” 酒蒸しchicken.

The amounts are for two good sized servings (good size for us, any way).

Onion: I first halved the onion and then sliced very thinly (my ceramic “nakiri” knife is the best for this) to make long strips (half of medium sized  Vidalia onion). Although Vidalia onion is sweet and less astringent than regular or red onion, I added some salt, kneaded, let it stand for few minutes and then soaked  in cold water for 5 minutes or so, I drained and then wrung out the excess moisture in a paper towel. If you like the strong flavor of onion, you can skip this step.

Garlic chive: These are our home grown garlic chives. The amount is arbitrary but I used a half inch diameter bundle. I blanched it in rapidly boiling salted water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, drained and spread out on a paper towel lined plate to cool down quickly. I squeezed out the excess moisture and cut it in 2 inch segment.

Chicken skin: I just used the skin of the sakamushi chicken breast (from 4 breasts) cut into thin julienne. This is optional or can be substituted with julienned cooked meat, ham, or even with grilled deep fried tofu pouch “abura-age” 油揚げ.

Dressing: I was still out of Ponzu sauce, so I made dressing from semi congealed liquid in the container in which I kept the sakamushi chicken or you can use dashi broth (3 tbs), soy sauce (3 tbs, reduced salt kind), and rice vinegar (1 tbs). For good measure, I added Yuzu koshou (1/2 tsp).
I dressed the ingredients and garnished it with slices of Campari tomato (skinned).

This is nothing spectacular but mild raw onion and blanched garlic chive are a good combination. This is a very refreshing salad or sunomono 酢の物 to start the evening.